Rio Rancho Observer

SPORTS The Class of 2026 forward will take his talents to New Mexico Junior College Rio Rancho High School's Cayden Richardson, left, puts up a shot over Mayfield's Christian Covarrubia, right, during their first round playoff game in the state basketball tournament. Rio Rancho won the game played on their home court, Saturday, March 7, 2026. RIO RANCHO — Don’t close the yearbook on the Class of 2026 quite yet: Another Ram has announced he is headed to the college level.

LOCAL GOVT. Gov. Paisano says transfer will help with funding as well as preservation of historic sacred areas A portion of a map shows the border of the T'uf Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area. BERNALILLO — A piece of Sandia Pueblo land in Sandoval County could be under different management if everything goes to plan.

RIO RANCHO The exhibit, from the N.Y.-based Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, will be on display until Sept. 12 Jason Shoup, director of library and information services for the city of Rio Rancho, discusses a panel of the 1776 "Big Bang" exhibit at the Loma Colorado Main Library in Rio Rancho on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. RIO RANCHO β€” The Declaration of Independence may be an American original, but its influence has shaped countries around the world.

PUBLIC SAFETY Crews continue to suppress after more than a week of battling fire A July 2 map shows the fire acreage has reached 63% containment. JEMEZ — The 712-acre McCauley Springs fire crews reached 63% containment July 2. Now down to 328 personnel, crews are focused on continuing suppression operations, according to a release.

PUBLIC SAFETY No information available on drowning COCHITI LAKE — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff at Cochiti Lake announced July 2 that the Cochiti and Tetilla Peak recreation areas at the lake are open and operating as normal. The lake closed June 29 due to police and fire activity in the area in response to a possible drowning, according to previous coverage. “We appreciate the public’s patience during our sudden closure of the lake’s recreation areas,” said Lt. Col.

EDUCATION Jacob Rice, who is headed to University of Alabama to study aerospace engineering, was the only Rio Rancho High School student out of 15 other New Mexicans to receive the prestigious honor Rio Rancho High School 2026 graduate Jacob Rice poses for a portrait at his parents' home with the family bulldog, Stella, who is sporting a University of Alabama collar. Rice earned a full-ride scholarship to the university, where he will enroll later this year.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT The Corrales Heights area break that began at 5 p.m. June 30 was resolved by 9:30 a.m. the next day RIO RANCHO β€” A water main break that occurred late Tuesday in the Corrales Heights neighborhood of Rio Rancho left numerous residents with with little to no water into the night and early morning before service was restored.

BUSINESS Castelion CFO and co-founder discusses progress, economic impact for hypersonic missile site set to begin operation later this year in Sandoval County Andrew Kreitz, Castelion Corporation co-founder and CFO, provided an update on the progress of the company's Project Ranger site, located in Sandoval County about 3 miles west of Rio Rancho, from Hotel Chaco Wednesday, June 30, 2026.

JEMEZ β€” The 712-acre McCauley Springs Fire still hasn't been fully contained as the community heads into a new month and the 250th United States Independence Day is days away. As of July 1, crews contained 43% of the fire, and repopulation by the Sierra de los Pinos community is underway, Southwest Area Incident Management Team incident commander Matt Rau said in a release. The release states about 386 crew members are aiding the fire, which began June 24.

SPORTS New Mexico Goatheads, Rio Rancho High and Rio Rancho Middle School all represented at the mascot celebration Albuquerque Isotopes' Orbit and the New Mexico Goatheads' Billy the Goat hanging out at Orbit's Birthday celebration. ALBUQUERQUE — It was a “who's who” of mascot madness on Friday night at Isotopes Park, as the local ball club was celebrating its mascot, Orbit, for his birthday. A crowded cast of characters took the field, with a handful of them having Rio Rancho roots.